Drift-fishing from the depths pays off

Smaller snapper were hooked on the ledger rig, with the sinker below the hooks. Picture / Geoff Thomas

'The long-liners have been working this area," said Peter Blackwell, as he stopped the boat and dropped a baited ledger rig over the side.

Port Jackson at the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula was a few kilometres to the east, and the depth sounder showed it was 50m deep. No fish sign appeared on the screen, but you can still catch fish when the screen appears empty. The rod bent and a 3kg snapper was soon wallowing on the surface.

It is an interesting way of fishing - drifting with a large drogue connected to the bow to slow the boat, and the strong tidal current was flowing in the opposite direction to the wind so the launch was barely moving. This is important when drift-fishing, for if the boat moves too fast it becomes almost impossible to get baits to the bottom in deep water without using too much weight for the 15kg tackle. It becomes a balancing act, matching the weight needed to the strength of the line and rod.

The baits of fresh kahawai chunks with the scales removed were sweetened with pilchard to attract the fish, for pilchard chunks disintegrate when snapper pick at them, creating miniature berley clouds. The kahawai stays on the hook, and you can catch several fish on one bait.

But the fish coming up were in the 2-3kg range, nice eating size but not huge. So the terminal rigs were changed to a couple of ball sinkers sliding above a swivel, with a 2m trace and two hooks fixed about 10cm apart on the end. It is common to put a strip of fresh kahawai or a whole pilchard on the two hooks, but if separate smaller baits are used on each hook, there is still one bait left after one has been pulled off. The different rig soon proved a smart move, and the snapper which came aboard tipped the scales to 5kg and bigger. One of the anglers took the sinker off the bottom of a flasher rig and reversed it, putting the sinker above the trace, which had the same effect but the trace was much shorter. It still caught fish, and they were much bigger.

It was a useful lesson in the value of being adaptable, and keeping an open mind when targeting snapper.

There are still fish in the channels and the shallows, but more cold weather will see them move out to deeper water.

We get spoiled during summer when snapper are easy to find in large numbers, but when it gets harder the answer is to invest more effort. Some successful fishermen will start out with two or three bombs to create a concentrated stream of fish scraps and scent which bring the fish to you. It makes sense to thaw out the first bombs, rather than put them in frozen, as it will dissipate much faster and be more effective. And check the berley containers to make sure it has not run out, adding new bombs before they do so.

Fishing has picked up at the Great Mercury group, with several weighing 9kg coming from the eastern side of Red Mercury Island and at 14m off Stanley Island. Limit bags of 3-4kg snapper are coming from the sand just off Whitianga.

Surfcasters and long-lines deployed off the beach usually do well at this time of year, and beaches on both coasts have been producing some good fish when conditions are suitable. As with most fishing, the early morning and evening are the prime times to have baits in the water, and on the beach if this coincides with high tide so much the better.

One trick when sending out a line with 25 hooks and traces is to use fresh bait, which will withstand picking from small fish better than bait which has been frozen, and to hook the bait so the skin side runs along the sand as it is being taken out. This way the flesh side will not be damaged before it reaches the fishing zone which may be up to 1km offshore.

Freshwater
The recent rainfall has put fresh flushes into rivers and streams in the Rotorua-Taupo lakes, and fishing at stream mouths is picking up although the large moon will slow fishing at small stream mouths. The Tongariro River rose early in the week but was back to 30 cumecs yesterday and clearing. These are perfect conditions for fishing, and one nice brown trout of 3.5kg was reported from the river yesterday.

Some good-sized trout in top condition have been taken from the lake by jigging and deep trolling, so anglers can expect some good fish from the river and even small fish are reported to be in top condition.

Bite times
Bite times are 10.45am and 11.05pm tomorrow, and 11.30am and 11.50pm on Sunday.

Tip of the week
When drifting for snapper it is a good idea to drop a slow jig like a kabura and the rod can be left in the rod holder as the slow movement of the boat is enough to move the lure.

It should be fished on a light rod like a soft bait rod, with braid line. Often this will produce the biggest fish of the trip.

More fishing action can be found on Rheem Outdoors with Geoff, 6.30am Saturday, TV3, and at GTTackle.co.nz.